I found this to be an excellent IPA from a brewery that doesn't seem to be talked about very much. It is well balanced for the style and very drinkable. It's definitely very hoppy and bitter (in a good way) and makes for a good beer drinking experience. I recommend this one for a cheap,delicious IPA.

A: The beer is clear light amber in color and has a moderate amount of carbonation. It poured with a thin off white head that died down, but consistently left a thin layer of bubbles covering the surface and lacing down the sides of the glass.
S: There are light aromas of grapefruit hops in the nose.
T: The taste has flavors of citrusy hops (grapefruit stands out in particular) along with some hints of caramel malts. A moderate amount of bitterness is present.
M: It feels medium-bodied and a bit crisp on the palate with a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: Nothing stands out about the taste of this beer compared to other India Pale Ales but it is a very easy-to-drink beer.

Much better on tap than in the bottle. Looks more creamy with more body, active carbonation, and clarity. Smells pine-ey, hoppy, mildly sweet, and very citrusy. Tastes much more citrusy than through the bottle. More crisp and refreshing. Just more alive. Mouthfeel is a good blend of bubbly and creamy. Crisp and mildly dry in the finish. Less metalic, tin-ey, and thin than the bottle. This suddenly became a good beer. I recommend this beer--but only on tap.

Acquired today as part of a trade with the gracious michaellscoates - thanks, man! 12 fl oz brown glass bottle with uninteresting label art and standard branded pry-off cap served into a conical Samuel Smith's pint glass in me gaff in low altitude Los Feliz, Los Angeles, California. Reviewed live. Expectations are high given its current ratings. Reviewed as an English style IPA per current notes. No ABV listed. "Best by 08/19/12" (acquired in a trade and served the day of receipt..)

Served cold, straight from the freezer. Side-poured with standard vigor as no carbonation issues are anticipated.

A: Pours a 4-5 finger wide head. Beige colour. Nice thickness. Decent frothiness. Slight creaminess; not enough. Pretty good (~4-5 minute) retention. Body colour is a clear pale copper. No yeast particles are visible. No bubble show. Looks pretty standard for the style; not unique or special. I don't notice any overt flaws. Uneven inconsistent light lacing clings to the sides of the glass as the head recedes.

Sm: Definitely English-style hopping; fuggles and noble if I had to guess. The malty end is dominant, with caramel and pale malts seizing prominence. A bit toasty and bready. A fairly strong aroma; certainly above moderate strength. No yeast or alcohol comes through. Appealing for the style; I haven't had an IPA with English character in awhile and this fits the bill.

T: Pale malts and caramalt; the malty backbone is strong here. Floral hops complement the simple body nicely. No yeast or alcohol comes through. Lightly bready with a hint of toasted character. Not much in the way of citrus. Not juicy, oily, nectary, or bitter. A balanced enjoyable IPA, but its simplicity does hold it back. No subtlety or complexity here. Just a barebones English style IPA with effective build. Limited depth and intensity of flavour. Average flavour duration.

Mf: Smooth and wet. Nice thickness. Not oily or harsh. Average/adequate carbonation. Decent presence on the palate. Suits the flavour profile generally well but doesn't feel custom-tailored to it. No complaints here.

Dr: Drinkable and enjoyable; very sessionable stuff. A no-frills English IPA that I could kill a 6er of. I doubt I'd get it again but I'm glad to have tried it. I wouldn't mind trying it on-draught at a good price. Hides its average ABV well. I wouldn't recommend it to friends, but it gets the job done and doesn't offend. Approachable pedestrian stuff. This would be a great beer to use to ease newcomers into the style.

Appearance: Clear pale amber with half an inch of froth. This one looks almost like a lager in appearance; it's incredibly clear and pale.

Smell: Mild floral hops, a bit grassy, not nearly as bold as the West Coast IPAs I'm used to.

Taste/mouthfeel: Initially quite malty with a bit of caramel and fruity sweetness. Body is light and fairly crisp. Hops come out toward the finish, but again are very mild and subdued. The aftertaste is surprisingly clean with very little residual bitterness.

Notes: Tasty stuff but it drinks more like a plain ol' pale ale in my opinion. Thanks to leftmindedrighty for the bottle!

12 ounce bottle into pint glass, best by 4/15/2012. Pours slightly hazy golden amber color with a nice 2 finger dense off white head with great retention that reduces to a cap that lingers. Some spotty lacing on the glass. Aromas of pine, herbal, floral, citrus, grass, caramel, and a bit of honey sweetness. Decent aromas that are on the weak side. Taste of big pine, citrus, herbal, floral, caramel, biscuit, grass, and graininess. Fair amount of bitterness on the finish; with lingering notes of biscuit, pine, herbal, citrus, and grass on the finish for a bit. Some good malt and flavor balance with bitterness. Medium carbontion and body; with a crisp and clean mouthfeel. Some prickly carbonation present as well, but it still drinks very smoothly. No alcohol presence in the taste or finish. Overall this is a solid and pretty enjoyable IPA.

A solid inch or more of bright white foam rests gently atop a slightly hazy, golden-amber body. The head retention is good, and some very nice lace is left throughout the entire glass. Bright, fresh, and floral hops greet you in the nose as soon as it's poured! Very nice! A medium body combines with a very fine-bubbled carbonation to leave it lightly crisp on the tongue. Floral hops and a sweet grainy malt swirl in a kaleidescope of flavor right off the bat! Rich, exciting, sweet, hoppy, fruity, and finally, bitter in the lingering, drying finish. It's exceptionally well-balanced with a bitterness that reveals itself increasingly with every sip. What finesse!

Served in a tulip glass. Pours a nice copper color with a white head and some good lacing on the way down. The taste is malty with some pine and floral hops seeking to balance. The flavor is mostly malt with a bit of bread and some light floral hops. A bit of bitterness and a good body. Drinks well enough, but not too fantastic.

Pours a nice medium gold color with a medium head that leaves some lacing,aroma is assertively hoppy and zesty.The taste is hoppy for sure but there is a sweet balance there in the finish.I think this an above average IPA that is very drinkable and goes good with spicey food.

On-tap 2/23/07 at The Celtic Pub in Pawtucket, RI, served in a US tumbler pint glass.

A: The beer is a light gold color, with a large off-white head that fades slowly and leaves a thick lace on the glass.

S: The smell is faint, but has a good floral hops content, with a mild background of caramelized malt and citrus.

T: It starts out with a good hops burst as an IPA should. The thing with this beer though is that I find the hops taste has much more of that “cut grass” flavor than any other beer that I’ve had. There’s a decent caramelized malt backbone and a slight citrus sweetness. The after-taste is of course hoppy and pleasantly bitter.

D: Tasty, goes down ok, good kick, slightly filling, good representation of style. The first time that I had this beer I didn’t like it at all, but since then it has grown on me, which is fortunate for me as a hophead, because it’s the most common IPA in the area on-tap.

On tap @ the Harpoon Riverbend Taps and Beer Garden (Windsor, VT) on 2/20/11. Served in a Harpoon IPA branded pint glass.

Pours a clear copper, with a finger of thick and foamy bright-white head. This retains with roughly a rich ½ finger that proceeds to coat the sides of the glass with heavy sticky lacing. The aroma is bright and zesty smelling in the nose with citrus flavors that are undercut by some additional leafy, earthy, and spicy notes. A firm backing of caramel and bread balance things out across the back, giving the overall nose a spicy tanginess at times.

The taste mirrors the nose, with fresh biting citrus flavor that is surrounded by a leafy spiciness. This is balanced by a silky mix of caramel and lightly toasted grains. The finish is dry and spicy with a touch of bitter earth. The mouthfeel is medium bodied and crisp on the sides, which then pulls together into more of a creamy and silky feel across the back of the throat as this goes down. That slightly sub 6% ABV helps keep this smooth and drinkable.

This was my first time with this beer on draft and I must say that I enjoyed it much more than the few times that I've had it out of the bottle. Lots of fresh bright citrus flavors and bitterness here, which were well balanced and the creamy body here kept this very drinkable. This has a bit of an Americanized British IPA hybrid thing going on and I really liked it.

Pretty good IPA. Of note is the fact that when I first had this beer, I was served in a true glass pint, while my friend Dave received his in a plastic cup. Just sayin'.

Poured a slightly hazy amber, with some carbonation, and a humble white head. Faint aroma of citrus hops and caramel malts. Pretty smooth tasting at first with malts and nuts up front, and hops coming in soon afterward with some bitterness. Citrus and pine notes. Light-medium mouthfeel with some stale bitterness in the aftertaste. Fairly drinkable.